2002 Bump-N-Grind

The Eight Annual Bump-N-Grind was put on by BUMP, the Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers, at Oak Mountain State Park. The course is approximately 17 miles long with a mix of the different types of terrain found in the Southeast. The course was in excellent shape because of recent dry weather. The course started in a parking lot and quickly went into some sparse woods before crossing pavement again. It then took a right hand turn into tight, twisty, rooty, relatively flat singletrack. The trail briefly went onto a gravel road with a slight uphill grade before heading into the second section of singletrack, which was much the same as the first. At approximately the fifth mile, the trail came back out onto a gravel road and crossed several concrete gulleys that were like whoop-de-doos. The trail then climbed for two and a half up the gravel road. The moderate grade climb was interrupted by several flat sections that allowed riders to catch their breath. A nice downhill followed. The trail then turned back into the singletrack. "Blood Rock," a rock garden with several drop offs, provided the first technical challenge for riders. A small technical downhill section followed before the trail began rolling. Several switchbacks broke up the fast pace. The course crossed a gravel road. The final section of singletrack started out very fast but got twisty and slower towards the end. The course came back out into the parking lot and the finish line.

I knew the start to the race would be fast. While it's important to get a good start, there were only 7 Sport Women on the line. It would not be quite as critical in years past to be among the first into the singletrack. Three Team Peggy riders lined up-Trish Albert, Kristy Hagen, and Sherry. Also on the line were Leigh Valletti (Atlanta Pro Bikes), a super fast racer from Roswell, GA, Danya Cotter (Girlzilla), another fast GA rider, Iris Mixon (The Hub Bikes) from Athens, GA, and another racer from Tennessee. I was very surprised that there were no local women present. It looked to be GA vs. TN. With so few entries, we were all able to start on the first row. With the start's gun, Leigh took off. I hopped on her wheel, but within a few hundred feet, she was pulling so strongly that I started to slip off. Iris passed me. I glanced back to see only Dayna behind us--all of this before we even got into the singletrack! The three of us in the front hopped over the curbs in the parking lot and continued to pull away from the rest of the field. As we crossed the main paved road, I pulled ahead of Iris. By the time I got into the singletrack, I could barely see Leigh ahead of me. She was gone and would not be seen again until the finish line. I settled into a pace that I thought I could sustain for an hour and a half in the 90 degree heat. even though we were still on the flat part of the course, I was beginning to have breathing problems. I was very thankful that I did not go out as hard as I've had to in years past at this race. I would have been in real trouble by now. I brought my focus back to the task at hand-not running into trees on this very tight trail. My bike and I bounced back and forth across the roots, searching for the best line through them. Towards the end of the first singletrack section, Dayna passed me. As we came out onto the gravel road, I held her wheel as long as I could. Unfortunately, this road has a slight uphill grade. As always, uphill doubletrack is the death of me. I surprised myself and was able to stay in my big ring longer than I'd thought. Still, Iris passed me. Finally, the trail started to climb through the singletrack again. All this time, I had Iris in my sights. I did not feel like I had the power to be able to chase her down. Part of that was mental since the portion of the course I bruised my ribs on last year was coming up. Visions flew through my head of nearly have to go to the ER again. I decided to keep the steady pace and attack after the big climb if I could. The heat was still bothering my breathing. On some of the short climbs, I would have mini-breathing attacks. I was able to keep them under control with a few deep breaths and by slowing up a bit after the climb. I came upon the rock garden and prepared myself to be jolted. Moonpie handled the rocks like the singletrack bike she's built up at. We bounced all around and emerged with no flats unlike the half a dozen people I saw on the side of the trail trying to fix theirs. I'd finally reached the base of the climb.

Two and a half miles--I thought Alabama was flat. I remembered the climb being long and steep. This spring, I've been going to the mountains a lot. Nothing is worse than the 16 miles of climbing at Bear Creek or any of the mountains at Bull Mountain. This was nothing! My mind made the climb out to be worse than it was. I dropped down to my middle ring and spun. I kept my cadence as high as I could using a slightly lower gear than I normally do. It's a tactic I've been trying to save some of my energy for the longer races. It's worked on the road, so I figured I would give it a shot on the mountain bike. Going through the concrete gullies felt great! The water was very cold and splashed up when my front wheel hit it. I enjoyed the sensation of my shoes getting soaked, which momentarily cooled me off. About a third of the way up the climb, the first place Pro Man and Tinker Juarez passed me. I continued at my steady pace, rarely varying. Finally, the steep part came up. I dropped down into my granny gear and spun away. No problem! I popped it back into a harder gear at the top and enjoyed the brief downhill before starting to climb again. The rest of the climb was all middle ring. A few of the Pro men passed me as did the fastest two women from Master Sport group that started immediately behind us. In retrospect, I could have pushed it harder on the climb, but I'm still happy with it. The top of the hill finally appeared. I reacquainted myself with the big ring and started to push the downhill. I passed a few of the older sport men as I flew down the hill.

I looked ahead, keeping my eyes open for the turn back into the singletrack. I saw it ahead and slowed down. I took the turn well and made my way towards Blood Rock. As usual, there was a huge crowd gathered to watch those that would ride it and the carnage of those that would not. I decided that I would be part of neither group. Here is where cyclocross training comes in handy! I hopped off my bike, put my right hand through the frame, slid the bike onto my shoulder, and began to run. Hopping down these little rocks was nothing. Not once did I take a wrong step, which I thought unusual because the bottom of my Sidis is pretty slick! At the end of Blood Rock, I hopped back on and powered away. I had to dismount again right down the trail because of a large downed tree. Not having preridden, I didn't want to wreck going over it. I remounted and continued on. The next section is a fun--lots of bermed, tight corners. I picked up the pace and bounced from one to the other. I had to briefly pull to the side to let my friend Jeff go by on his way to a 6th place finish in the Pro/Semipro division. I didn't mind at all! I got back on again and continued down the trail. After a quick gravel road crossing, it was back into the final section of singletrack. A small stairstep climb was the last real hurdle for me before the finish. My legs decided that they'd had enough. I had to slow down on the climb. Back to an easy gear, sit and spin. With the last hill finally over, I picked the pace back up. At this point, Moonpie and I started to dance. It's been so long since I've felt like this in a race! My breathing was easy (probably because I wasn't going that fast!), the trail flowed beneath us as I pedaled, and I was in my zone. I'd forgotten what that felt like after my last two disastrous mountain bike races. We bounced along, taking lines as they came and flowing through the woods. It was only briefly interrupted by two experts that needed to pass. The dancing continued until the finish. About half a mile before the end, I was able to go back up into my big ring despite the tired legs. I caught my second wind as I knew the finish was near. I came through the finish banner flying, feeling great!

I'm really glad I had a good race, even though I feel as though I didn't put myself as hard as I could, especially in the beginning and up the 2.5 mile climb. Still, I'm happy. I needed the confidence booster of a good race after the last few really bad mountain bike races. I wound up 3rd because Dayna flatted a few miles from the finish. Bump N Grind always gives out cash for Sport, which is a real treat! I won $40 and a very nice medal. Georgia ladies swept the first 4 places with Leigh in 1st, Iris 2nd, me 3rd, and Kristy 4th. Not bad! I'm looking forward to the next race! It's been a while since I could say that.

Iris Mixon, Leigh Valletti, and Trish Albert on the Senior Sport Women's podium.